The Savvy Kitchen's Pizza Bites & Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzels for SRC

After a long month off, we're back on schedule for the Secret Recipe Club! And I couldn't be more excited. This month I was assigned The Savvy Kitchen. The Savvy Kitchen is written by Amy and its a great place to find easy and delicious recipes - with a wide array of types of dishes! And since her parents are italian, she's got some great pasta recipes on there that I can't wait to try out when I have time. I loved her blog so much that I decided to make two recipes to share with you today.

First up I made these delicious pepperoni pizza puffs. They're a quick and easy appetizer and even your fussiest guest is sure to dive right into! Sorry for the quality of the pizza puff photos - we were so excited to eat them that these are the only photos I managed to snap before they were devoured.

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs
Recipe from The Savvy Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 cup shredded mozza
• 1 cup pepperoni, cut into small pieces
• 1 small can pizza sauce for dipping

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a 24 cup mini muffin pan with non-stick spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder. Whisk in the milk, eggs and seasonings. Then gently stir in the mozza and the pepperoni. Let stand for 10 minutes.
2. Stir the batter, then divide among the prepared mini muffin cups. Fill almost to the top, then bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until puffed and golden. Serve with pizza sauce for dipping and try not to eat the whole batch in one sitting!! (good luck with that!!)

Those were such a hit in our house (we eagerly sat around the coffee table, devouring these until they were all gone!!), that I decided to try out another recipe from Amy's blog - this time something sweet.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites
Recipe from The Savvy Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 80 mini pretzels
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method:

1. Line large baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper.
2. Beat peanut butter, powdered sugar and vanilla in a bowl until smooth and creamy. Roll peanut butter into 1/2 inch balls and place in the center of 40 of the mini pretzels. Top each one with another mini pretzel, pressing down slightly to sandwich the icing between the pretzels. Once all pretzel bites are formed, place in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in the microwave on low, stirring often so the chocolate doesn't burn. Remove the pretzels from the freezer and dip each one into the melted chocolate. Place each chocolate covered pretzel onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Allow to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to one week.

These were soooo addictive and delicious! We couldn't stop eating them. I'm afraid to make another batch in case I eat all of them too. But make these for a party - they're easy and quick and guests will devour them. :)

I'm so excited about finding Amy's blog! Its wonderful and I can't wait to venture back and try out some more of her recipes. They're so down to earth and low maintenance to make, which is a nice change of pace from some of the stuff I often find myself making. So, if you haven't already checked out The Savvy Kitchen, do it! I'll still be here when you come back.

And lastly, check out the blog hop below - it is a round up of all the other SRC Group C participants this month. Everyone always does a great job choosing and making delicious recipes and then in turn featuring the blog they were assigned.

Happy Baking my Friends!

A Little Nosh's Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

Woohoo! So stoked that it is time for the Secret Recipe Club reveal again... feels like this month took forever to go by. Maybe thats because I was so excited about my blog assignment (And the recipe I found on her blog to bake)!!!!! I was assigned to Amy's blog, A Little Nosh. Amy is a food blogger from Washington, D.C. with a really down-to-earth, healthy approach to cooking and baking. She posts a lot of healthy recipes and some treat recipes too! Can you guess what type of recipe I chose??!! Surpise, I picked a treat recipe to bake. I chose her Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting because they sounded soooo amazing and you know what? They were even better than they sounded! Yummers!

Do stop by Amy's blog when you have a minute, especially when you need a quick and healthy idea for dinner! She has so many great ideas that don't take a lot of time, which I guess is important when you're as busy as Amy is! I learned that she is a mother to a cute little boy and a wife to a smart, funny man annnndddd she has a kitchen that is even smaller than mine! But she doesn't let that stop her. Thanks Amy for sharing so many great recipes and tips for eating well and eating quick! :)

Now, on to the recipe!!

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

Recipe from A Little Nosh (October 2010)

Ingredients:

• 8 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces


• 2 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped


• 1/2 cup dutch processed cocoa powder


• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour


• 1/2 tsp baking soda


• 3/4 tsp baking powder


• 2 eggs


• 3/4 cups granulated sugar


• 2 tsp vanilla extract


• 1/2 tsp fine salt


• 1/2 cup sour cream

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.


2. Combine butter, chocolate and cocoa powder in a microwave safe dish. Using 30 second increments, microwave until melted. Stir well until smooth. Set aside to cool.


3. Whisk flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder in a small bowl.


4. In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat eggs until fluffy. Add sugar and vanilla and beat well until fully incorporated. Beat in cooled chocolate mixture until well combined. Stir in one third of flour mixture until just combined, then beat in sour cream. Add the remaining flour mixture and stir until just incorporated. Do not overmix or you will have tough cupcakes!


5. Divide batter evenly among baking cups. Bake 18 minutes in preheated oven until toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs on it.


6. Cool cupcakes completely, then frost with peanut butter frosting (recipe below).

Peanut Butter Frosting

Recipe from A Little Nosh (October 2010)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup icing sugar


• 1 cup creamy peanut butter


• 5 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature


• 1.5 tsp vanilla extract


• 1/4 tsp kosher salt


• 1/3 cup heavy cream

Method:

1. Beat together icing sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla and kosher salt until well combined.


2. Beat in heavy cream until icing is smooth.


3. Pipe liberally onto cupcakes however you like!


4. Try not to eat the whole batch of cupcakes.

Thanks Amanda for hosting the Secret Recipe Club again this month, and thank you to Amy at A Little Nosh for introducing me to such a lovely recipe!

If you want to join the Secret Recipe Club, check out the website here.

Happy Baking my Friends!